Indigenous women more likely to face violence if they were a child in care: report
Front-line workers are calling for more support for Indigenous families after a Statistics Canada analysis found First Nations, Inuit and Métis women are more likely to experience physical or sexual assault in their lifetime if they were in government care as children.
The report, published recently in Juristat, said 63 per cent of Indigenous women have experienced violence and nearly half — 46 per cent — have experienced sexual assault.
The analysis found 81 per cent of Indigenous women who had been in the child-welfare system had been physically or sexually assaulted in their life.
Darlene Okemaysim-Sicotte is a co-chair of Iskwewuk E-wichiwitochik, which means “women walking together” in Cree. The Saskatoon group has been supporting families of missing women for nearly two decades.